Welcome to hell - a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out - even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X.

Today’s do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and everyone’s favorite psycho, Harley Quinn. Then arm them heavily and drop them (literally) on the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and-destroy mission with only Colonel Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave… and Amanda Waller’s government techies in their ears, tracking their every movement.

And as always, one wrong move and they’re dead (whether at the hands of their opponents, a teammate, or Waller herself). If anyone’s laying down bets, the smart money is against them - all of them.

In addition to his distinguished career as a professor of English, James Gunn has also been a prolific writer whose body of work includes several novels and critical analyses of science fiction. In the mid-1980s, Easton Press began publishing a series of leather-bound collector editions called Masterpieces of Science Fiction, and Masterpieces of Fantasy, which featured some of the most important works in these genres. Gunn was commissioned to write introductions to these works, which allowed him to pay tribute to many authors who inspired and influenced him. In Paratexts: Introductions to Science Fiction and Fantasy, Gunn has collected the most significant essays produced for the Easton series, along with prefaces the author wrote for reprints of his own novels. Cited here are some of the most significant authors and works of 19th and 20th century science fiction and fantasy, including H.G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World, George Orwell's 1984, Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, C. S.Lewis's Out of the Silent Planet, Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange, Orson Scott Card's Speaker for the Dead, David Brin's The Postman, Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe, Stephen King's The Dead Zone, Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End, Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon, Anne McCaffrey's Dragon's Eye, Roger Zelazny's Nine Princes in Amber, Kim Stanley Robinson's Blue Mars, Peter Beagle's The Last Unicorn, John Crowley's Little, Big, and J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Drawing upon Gunn's lifetime of work in the field, these introductions include analyses of the individual works and the fields in which they were written. Gunn also briefly discusses each novel's significance in the science fiction canon. Collected here for the first time, these prefaces and introductions provide readers with insight into more than seventy novels, making Paratexts a must read for science fiction and fantasy aficionados.

Peacemaker had a long road to the spotlight and he's not alone. There are dozens of unique, sometimes absurd, and yet truly memorable characters waiting for their chance to shine. Strange and Unsung All-Stars of the DC Multiverse celebrates some of the quirkiest, most compelling, and ready-for-primetime characters from throughout DC's history. With peculiar powers-like Matter-Eater Lad to Arm-Fall-Off Boy-and one-of-a-kind costumes-from Red Tornado with her red long johns and a cooking pot for a helmet to Blue Snowman with her wintry robotic armour-these characters are truly unforgettable. Dive in and discover your next favourite DC Super Hero or Villain.

Everything is going well for the Mystery Inc. gang: they're enjoying a high profile, and the public adore them so much their hometown of Coolsville has even opened a special museum in their honour. But things take a turn for the worse when a masked villain tries to take control of the city using a Monster Machine that brings to life the gang's past enemies - including the 10,000 Volt Ghost, Captain Cutler and The Creeper - reproductions of whom are on display in the museum.

To make matters worse, a local TV reporter has got it in for Mystery Inc., airing a series of reports that call their bravery and intelligence into question.

Can Scooby, Shaggy and the gang regain their credibility and vanquish the dastardly Monster Machine operator?

Acknowledged as one of the founding figures of science fiction scholarship and teaching, and one of the genre's leading writers, James Gunn in 1951 wrote what is likely the first master's thesis on modern science fiction, Modern Science Fiction: A Critical Analysis. It achieved some degree of legendary status when portions appeared in the short-lived pulp magazine Dynamic, but has otherwise remained unavailable for scholars and general readers of science fiction. Appearing for the first time in book form, this early critical work by a science fiction master is an important historical addition to the field of science fiction studies. Gunn's observations on many of the classic Golden Age stories of the 1940s, before they were classic, highlight this exuberant and astute early academic critical assessment of science fiction. Here the reader will witness the development of Gunn's critical perspective that informed his essential genre history Alternate Worlds and the monumental anthology series The Road to Science Fiction. Michael R. Page's introduction and commentary show the historical significance of Gunn's work and frame it within the context of the later development of science fiction criticism and theory.

Hugo Award winning writer James Gunn (1923-) has been called ""the last Golden Age author"" of science fiction. In a career spanning almost 70 years, he has written 28 books and dozens of short stories and participated in the production of films, radio and television programs and comic books. Gunn's memoir provides an intimate account of his unusual life and career, and of the colorful world of science fiction during the latter half of the 20th century.

Four live-action/CGI-animated features based on the cartoon created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. In 'Scooby-Doo' (2002) Fred (Freddie Prinze Jr), Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Velma (Linda Cardellini), Shaggy (Matthew Lillard) and their dog, Scooby (voice of Neil Fanning), have accepted an invitation to investigate some mysterious cases of brainwashing on Spooky Island. When they arrive, they soon discover that a sinister voodoo cult is at work upon the island; but when Fred, Daphne and Velma all get turned into zombies, it's left to Shaggy and Scooby to save the day. In 'Scooby-Doo 2 - Monsters Unleashed' (2004) everything is going well for the Mystery Inc. gang: they're enjoying a high profile, and the public adore them so much their hometown of Coolsville has even opened a special museum in their honour. But things take a bad turn when a masked villain tries to take control of the city using a Monster Machine that brings to life the gang's past enemies - including the 10,000 Volt Ghost, Captain Cutler and The Creeper - reproductions of whom are on display in the museum. To make matters worse, a local TV reporter (Alicia Silverstone) has got it in for Mystery Inc., airing a series of reports that call their bravery and intelligence into question. Can Scooby, Shaggy and the gang regain their credibility and vanquish the dastardly Monster Machine operator? 'Scooby-Doo: The Mystery Begins' (2009) tells the story of how Daphne (Kate Melton), Velma (Hayley Kiyoko), Fred (Robbie Amell), Shaggy (Nick Palatas) and a puppy called Scooby-Doo (voice of Frank Welker) first met and became friends while attending Coolsville High. When ghosts start appearing, the gang get suspended from school after being falsely accused of playing spooky practical jokes. In an effort to prove their innocence, they set out to get to the bottom of the supernatural mystery. Finally, in 'Scooby-Doo: Curse of the Lake Monster' (2010) Shaggy, Velma, Daphne, Fred and Scooby-Doo go to work at Uncle Thorny (Ted McGinley)'s country club in Erie Point during their summer holiday. When a big green creature shows up at the club, causing chaos, Thorny loses a great deal of his customers so the gang decide to help him by investigating the legendary curse of the lake monster...

"Thunder and Roses" is the fourth volume in The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon. Included in "Thunder and Roses" are 15 stories, with major works like "Maturity," "The Professor's Teddy Bear," "A Way Home," and the title story, in addition to two works never published before.

Lo-tech crime fighter 'The Crimson Bolt' takes to the streets to clean up the city in this dark comedy from director James Gunn. Mild-mannered Frank D'Arbo (Rainn Wilson) decides to enter the world of crime fighting superheroes when his wife, Sarah (Liv Tyler), leaves him for local drug dealer Jacques (Kevin Bacon). Believing his wife will come back to him if he can only defeat Jacques and the rest of the city's lowlife, Frank morphs into The Crimson Bolt, complete with handmade costume and trusty pipe-wrench. But just when Frank's entirely human exploits seem to be running out of steam, the unforeseen arrival of comic shop assistant Libby (Ellen Page), in the guise of sidekick 'Boltie', helps save the day.

James Gunn directs and co-writes this Academy Award-nominated sci-fi action adventure starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper as the Marvel Comics superhero team known as the Guardians of the Galaxy. When pilot Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (Pratt) steals a mysterious orb he finds himself the target of the villainous Ronan (Lee Pace) and his allies. When Quill learns of the orb's powers and the danger it could bring to the galaxy, he teams up with alien Gamora (Saldana), warrior Drax the Destroyer (Bautista), tree-like humanoid Groot (voice of Diesel) and raccoon Rocket (voice of Cooper) in an attempt to prevent a disaster. Also among the cast are Karen Gillan, Josh Brolin, Djimon Hounsou, Benicio Del Toro, John C. Reilly and Glenn Close.

The age-old question about alien existence and human contact is explored in a new way in this collection of six novellas, previously anthologized in Analog magazine. When disillusioned aerospace engineer Adrian Mast buys a book at a remainder sale, the last things he expects to find in its appendix are alien spacecraft designs. With the help of the bookstore owner, Adrian tracks down the author—only to find him in a mental institution anguishing over the intentions of the aliens who sent the designs to him. By bluffing a bureaucrat intent on thwarting their progress, the two friends continue their quest for the stars and go ahead with the spacecraft designs. Having successfully launched their ship 15 years later, the questions that remain are: What were the intentions of the aliens? Is mankind ready to face what’s out there?